Government rejected family taskforce

The Howard Government's family taskforce recommended more than a year ago that the Government should adopt paid maternity leave, boost child care and redraw the Family Tax Benefit scheme, a leaked cabinet document has revealed.

Opposition family spokesman Wayne Swan yesterday produced the document in question time and accused Prime Minister John Howard of ignoring his own taskforce's advice.

"Before the last election John Howard promised Australians that helping families balance their work and child-rearing would be his third-term priority," Mr Swan said.

"John Howard has known for more than a year the squeeze his policies are having on Australian families - yet he has ignored them and their needs."

Excerpts from the December 2002 report contain a recommendation that the Government adopt a scheme of taxpayer-funded maternity leave offering 14 weeks at the minimum wage "to all working mothers".

"This kind of scheme would benefit the majority of mothers at the time of their first birth," the document says.

Sex Discrimination Commissioner Pru Goward yesterday would not comment on the fate of the scheme.

Mr Howard said he would not "confirm or deny" the existence of the document. "I commission a lot of documents from a lot of people, and long may that be the case," he told Parliament.

The report recommended a range of changes to Government policy and pointed out that single-income families in the $30-$40,000 range are effectively in a 60 per cent tax bracket.